Re: Booked out Melb XPTs

["Jack" <bd107@tsn.cc>]

Hi Sam

Jennifer Richmond wrote in message <378A825C.98BD2E1A@melbpc.org.au>...
>I have noticed that almost every Melbourne - Sydney/Sydney - Melbourne
>overnight (and many day services) are booked out, resulting in
>disappointed customers left behind to travel another day. This is
>absolutely fantastic, that so many people want to travel by rail between
>the two largest cities in the country! But it is not so fantastic that
>people must be left behind because of this.
>
>Would it be possible, to run an extra service overnight, between Sydney
>and Melb? I know that there aren't enough XPT sets, but how about a loco
>hauled train?

Sounds liike a good idea, but it aint that simple.. Countrylink could
possibly put together a set, when all the other sets are running as six
cars, and all the spare locos (3) are available... Unfortuneately, it is a
red letter day to have the 3 spares available for service... Just as an
example at the moment 2004 is in being repainted and that takes them out for
a couple of weeks, and the whole fleet is being done, with the exception of
2000..

Countrylink own NO locomotives other than the XP's, so the hiring of
locomotives to run an Overnight service to Melbourne would be high.. and as
far as I know there are no cars except for the couple of cars used on the
Broken Hill and the Griffith..

 Possibly a loco hauled train leaving 2 hours earlier than
>the XPT, stopping at every stop (possibly even Sunshine and Seymour)
>with the XPT following stopping only Albury, Wagga Wagga, Junee,
>Cootamundra, Goulburn and Strathfield? This would give extra seats to
>the service, give the passengers on the XPTs a good express run (after
>all, they are an eXpress Passenger Train!) and keep up the service to
>the smaller country towns at the same time. These services would then
>arrive in Sydney at about the same time, to connect with the
>Murwillumbah XPT.
>Does Countrylink own/have access to enough long distance cars (possibly
>sleepers as well) for this to happen? (it would require 2 full sets, a
>Northbound and a Southbound).
>
>Or, alternatively, is there room for competition? Could GSR start up a
>Melbourne - Sydney overnight service? With all of the complaints
>regarding Countrylink, competition may be just what is required to draw
>even more passengers back to rail.

Sure they would be able to compete, but would they want to?  the costs of
accreditation and crews would be pretty high, and do they have enuff locos
and cars to run such a service.. The crews may not be a problem, they could
hire NR crews, I think they need the work :)



Cheers
Jack
Queensland: Perfect One day
Beautiful the next
And wet for the other 363 days of the year